A Remarkable Shark Story. (By Charles Marter (late of Wellington), in Sydney Daily Telegraph)

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 119, 11 October 1902, Page 12

A Remarkable Shark Story. (By Charles Marter (late of Wellington), in Sydney Daily Telegraph )

THE interest and astonishment created by the account briefly telegraphed from Brisbane of the remarkable adventure with a large tager shark experienced by Messrs. Rogers and Norman (pilots), CaDtaui Switzer, and crew of the Oueensland pilot steamer Cormorant, and the representatives of "The Sydney Daily Telegraph" and Melbourne ' Argus," in Moreton Bay. last week, in addition to the scientific value which such an extraordinary instance of the tenacity of life and the vitality of these tigers of the sea in parti cular, should have has prompted me to recount the incident m detail. For the entertainment of the press representatives, and generally to relieve the monotonous duty of both pressmen and pilots of unavailingly searching the smoke-hazy horizon for a sign of the Miowera. with Madame Melba on board, fishing was resorted to. The steamei was anchored about half-a-mile off the ruggedly picturesque but still desolatelooking point on which the Cape Moreton light stands. The succulent and festive sohnapper was the chief ob T eet in view of the fishermen, but to the astonishment of the genial pilots who' so well know the ground, where so many large hauls have been made, the bites were like angels' visits. The cause was soon discovered A huge, ugly tieer shark was seen swimming about the vessel, and presently it tackled one of the lines, and, after being held for a few seconds, snapped it, and made off. The excited announcement of the presence of the bio; fish stirred one of the members of the crew — they call him "Joe" — into prompt and splendid action. A large rope, with chain and shark hook, with a hunk of beef on it, was thrown over but the fish still preferred the daintier schnanper bait, and once more he attached himself to one of the small lines, and again escaped. The shark then disappeared, and to quote the disappointed Joseph — "he had evidently had enough of it " About a quarter of an hour afterwards however, it was remarked to Mr. Norman that, for the sake of the excitement, it was a pity the fish had grot away. Norman walked to the other side of the vessel, and caught hold of the shark-line, and, strangely, just as he did so the bier fish was hooked. Everybody that possibly could took a hand in hauling the fish, which Droved to be about 12ft. in length, to the surface. The ugl" brute was tugged to the forepart of the Cormorant, and the hook of the anchor tackle was lowered over into his jaw. and he was thus as it were, re-hooked, an attempt to lift the shark on to the vessel bv throwing a rope round him having failed. The tackle hook oierced one the eyes of the fish, and, possibly, a portion of the brain. The fish was then hauled out of the water, and when drawn as far as the tackle oould pull him, his tail just touched the sea. "Joe," with his sleeves tucked un and armed with a sharp butcher's knife, began his deadly work. Plunging the knife into the shark lust below his lower jaw, the sailor ripped the fish to the tail, and proceeded to out his inside out. The whole of the orsans and contents of the interior, which included a number of feathers, were thrown into the sea, and the gleeful satisfaction with which "Joe" did his work seemed to suggest that he revelled m reversing the too frequent fearful order of things — that was, that man this time was reddening the sea. with the blood of the shark. When the whole interior of the fish had been out out, and from the vertical position of the body, practically every drop of blood had run out of the fish, "Joe" proceeded to secure the spoils by hacking out both upper and lower iaws with the object of securing the teeth. The shark was now absolutely clear from head to tail, and one of the naval jokers suggested that "you could now get inside him, and it would make a rare 'ammock." This cutting-up process had occupied about twenty minutes, and the only prominently noticeable movement on the part of the fish was the working of one of its treacherous-look-ing eves. "I suppose he is dead now," I remarked to one of the crew, who replied that "he believed he was as dead as a door-nail, and that when we let him go he would go down wollop." This belief that the fish was dead was freneral, and, when all was ready to lower it into the water, a rush was made to the side to see the shark "go wollop." Now, for the strange and wonderful thing that happened. Immediately the disembowelled fish reached the water, it made a dash off, and startled those of the ship's company, numbering nearly a dozen, by deliberately swimming off in the direction of the shore. After &oing about fifty yards, as near as oould be estimated, it turned round and came

baok to the steamer. The uncanniness of this proceeding produced a joking comment from one of the crew "Why, he's coming back for his innards." When the fish leached the bow of the steamer it swam off in a seaward direction, and, after going about thirty yards, it again turned round and made for the steamer once more. This time it struck the vessel amidships on the port side, and then continued its swim past the steamer, and was stall seen swimming astern at the rate, it was estimated, of about four or five miles an hour, when it was finally lost to the view of the eye. "Well, I'm ." That was the comment of one member of the astounded ship's company, who has witnessed wonders of the sea nearly all his life. Pilot Norman who has had twentveight years' experience at sea, and seen and heard of many remarkable shark experiences at the Solomon Islands, was rairlv taken off his feet with astonishment. Norman was in the after part of the vessel when the shark was let go, and he was not aware that it had been released. When, however he saw a huge fish swimming towards the steamer, he observed to a mate, "Look ' there's another brute of a shark after that dead one." When he came forard, he found that the fish he had seen was the one that had been caught and disembowelled. These are the simple unvarnished fact 9 of this strange tale ; its explanation if there can be any should provide a subject for the scientific mind. The cynical unbeliever will, possibly, turn a cold eye on the narrative. All that can be said to him is to observe as Hamlet did to Horatio, There are more things in heaven and earth Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.